Chief Moose Shares Memories Of Sniper Attacks

Moose Refuses To Answer Questions About Sniper Investigation

UPDATED 7:08 AM EDT Oct 02, 2003

BALTIMORE -

Former Montgomery County police Chief Charles Moose, the man at the center of the sniper shootings last year, became the face and the voice of the sniper story. And he put his memories of those days into a new book.

WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller spoke with Moose Thursday, exactly one year after the first shooting happened.

Moose drew high praise last fall for his handling of the sniper investigation. Now he finds himself the target of criticism as he takes on he takes on what he calls a whole new challenge.

Sniper suspect John Muhammad's trial begins in less than two weeks. When asked whether he'll testify, Moose wouldn't say.

"The trial and presentation of evidence is the decision of prosecutors. We'll see what they decide," Moose said.

One year after the start of the sniper attacks, Moose is in a whole different place. No longer the police chief in Montgomery County, he's spending this anniversary of the shootings promoting his book. It was that decision that forced him to leave his job.

"You hope to land again in the job of police chief, am I correct?" Miller asked.

"Well, I feel that I have the credentials, the skills, the experience, but if there's no community that wants to hire me, then that's the decision of that community," Moose said.

Miller said she asked that question because some wonder why Moose gave up his job as police chief in Montgomery County.

"I thought it was very important to tell the story about the teamwork between federal, state and local agencies. I thought it was very important to try to put my thoughts in a book," Moose said. "I've been a police chief, I know I can do that. The question is 'Could I write a book? Could I tell the story on a larger platform?' "

Moose has drawn criticism for trying to profit from his experience. His response Thursday was that he's making less money than he did as Montgomery County police chief.

"You know, they may have given Hillary [Clinton] $8 million and you know I'm not going to sell $8-million worth of this book," Moose said. "But it has hurt that so many people have wanted to make it about money, have accused me of hurting the case as if I have no care about the case. But when they read the book, there's a lot less of that. "

For as much as Moose wants to talk about his book, he's more reluctant to discuss questions about the way the sniper investigation was handled.

Moose was adamant that some questions about the sniper investigation, and the way it was conducted, are off-limits.

"If we're going to try to dissect the investigation, here this morning, I'm not interested in doing that," Moose said. "I would prefer you not make assumptions about what I've done."

Moose did answer questions about the erroneous focus on white box trucks during the investigation.

"Do you think that people may have been looking for that type of vehicle because there was so much publicity about it?" Miller asked.

"Certainly, I'm committed as a law enforcement person to never dismiss witnesses' accounting to the police," Moose said.

And Moose responded to the dispute about one witness report that was never publicized. On the night of Oct. 3, a witness reported seeing a dark-colored Chevrolet Caprice slowly leaving the scene of the sniper shooting in Washington, D.C.

Investigators now say a dark blue Caprice was used by the sniper suspects.

"Why was that vehicle description never publicized?" Miller asked.

"I've tried to explain numerous times in numerous forums, that the task force was told a maroon Chevy had been burned out, recovered and no longer of interest. Subsequent to all of this being over, now I'm told that members of the Metropolitan Police Department don't recall that, that I'm wrong. But the reality is the Metropolitan Police Department was part of the task force from the very start. And so if I'm imagining what I've imagined, then so be it," Moose said.